KIEV, July 4 (Xinhua) -- At least nine people were killed and eight others injured in a road collision in Ukraine's southern Mykolaiv region on Saturday morning, the State Service for Emergencies reported.

A minibus and a truck collided on the Odesa-Melitopol-Novoazovsk highway near the villages of Krasne and Nechayane, leaving the minibus severely damaged, the agency said in a statement.

Authorities have launched an investigation into the collision.

According to the National Police, 3,249 people were killed and 31,898 injured in more than 25,000 traffic accidents in Ukraine last year.